Product Description

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In book two of Jill Osborne's fun new series, Riley Mae and her Swiftriver friends flee to Northwest Montana for protection from an unknown enemy. The rugged surroundings provide the perfect backdrop for a river sandal campaign, and for more opportunities to trust God as Riley learns how to share the Good News with those she loves.

Publisher's Description

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If youre gonna run for your life,

you gotta wear the right shoes.

Life is rapidly changing for pre-teen shoe spokesperson Riley Mae. After escaping near disaster at the top of Half Dome in Yosemite, Riley, her family, and her Swiftriver co-workers fly to a secret hideout in Northwest Montana. But when the planes malfunction leads to a rough landing, Riley wants nothing more than to return to friends, church, and home. Then she meets Sunday, a ten-year-old boy from Kenya who wrestles fish, battles bears, and tackles leukemia. While her rigorous raft training for the marketing campaign brings a few bumps and bruises, Riley now feels up for the challenge.

Everything looks as bright as the glistening fools gold on her Ready Eddy river sandals, but everything is not as it seems. Riley soon learns that life is as unpredictable as the raging waters, which, if she is not careful, will sweep her away and into the hands of an enemy who is even closer than she thinks.

Author Bio

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Jill Osborne works in childrens ministry and has a passion for telling great stories. She has written plays, skits for youth groups and Sunday morning drama teams, curriculum for childrens ministry, countless articles for her church newsletter, and a blog about taking a sabbatical in a motor home. Good News Shoes is her first series for kids, and she plans to run with it!

(DISCLAIMER: I have not personally read this book. You see it came in the mail, my 11 year old absconded with it, and I haven't seen it since. So from my 11 year old.....)

I LOVE THIS BOOK!!!! It has a lot of cute, funny moments which I absolutely LOVE. Plus it isn't possible to get bored with it. I would advise that the first book be read first, since it references back a lot. (Me here, we didn't read the first book first. We'll read the first book second. Just say we're "spiritual" that way...you know the first will be last and the last first. Okay back to her.)

After her adventure/catastrophe in Yosemite Valley, Riley thought her troubles were over. But when Swiftriver's private jet backfires leading to a rough landing, she believes that the danger is far from passed. Her suspicions are only confirmed when someone attempts to take her life during a coyote adventure. Flip, her assistant, is convinced her knows who it is, but when he uncovers proof to support his claim, will the others believe him?

River rapids, bears, broken hands, ping pong championships, and secret identities are just a few things that can found in Riley Mae and the Ready Eddy Rapids. This was a fun, fast paced book filled with tween adventure and dialogue.

I initially chose this book to review so that I find interesting books for my tween and teen girls to read. I was pleasantly surprised that Jill Osborne's book was both entertaining and filled with snippets of scripture and Jesus' saving work.

We meet Riley on her way to a "secret" destination. She is the face of a shoe company and has given up her love for soft ball to become the spokesperson for this shoe company. Of course, Riley has many of the pre-teen challenges of dealing with bossy friends, school crushes, and annoying little brothers. But as she strives to live out Ephesians 6:15 "For shoes, put on the peace that comes from the Good News so that you will be fully prepared", she learns that there are much more serious problems that people face and yet, through Jesus, hope and joy is still very present.

While she is at the secret destination, she meets a young man from Africa fighting cancer who wants to continually share the hope he has in Jesus - so much so, that he eventually shares the gospel with his nurse, Diane. Diane, in turn, comes to faith in Christ but we find that although Jesus does give hope and redemption - there are still consequences to past choices.

This is definitely a nice, clean read full of fun and adventure for your tween/teen reader.

Riley Mae and the Ready Eddy Rapids is a Faithgirlz! book and the second in The Good News Shoes series by Jill Osborne.Riley Mae and the Ready Eddy Rapids book cover

This book continues with Riley Mae adjusting as the spokesperson for Swiftrivers' athletic shoes for girls. The excitement also continues as Riley, her family, and the siblings that own Swiftriver fly to a secret location to hideout while they are hoping things get figured out. (I'm not going to ruin anything from book 1, Riley Mae and the Rock Shocker Trek. You really should read it because these books definitely build on each other.) Swiftriver is going to use this time to for a photo shoot of Riley Mae on a river rafting trip. She isn't too thrill about that, especially after the danger during the last photo shoot at Half Dome!!

However, there Riley Mae meets 10-year old Sunday who has leukemia and yet goes through each day with amazing joy and hunger for life. He shares that "I want my soul to be on fire for God Ã¢â¬â no matter what". With all this shoes business, Riley has been thinking about "For shoes, put on the peace that comes from the Good News so that you will be fully prepared" from Ephesians 6. But what does "soul on fire" mean?

Rusty, Riley Mae's friend, gets to come along later, even though she doesn't know the full story of why they are there. Rusty decides to give her life to Christ and then opens up to Riley about finding her mom. What will happen with that?

I still totally recommend this series - great stories with fun characters, age appropriate but also interesting enough for moms :) , and Christ-centered!!